THE RAILWAYS BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21362, 16 June 1931, Page 8

THE RAILWAYS BOARD

FIRST MEETING TO-MORROW DISCUSSION OF/ FORMAL QUESTIONS. (Special to Daily Times.) WELLINGTON, June 15. The first meeting of the newly-ap-pointed Government Railways Board will be held in Wellington on Wednesday. The chairman (Colonel Esson) 1 will preside, but there will be no formal addresses such as marked the'first meeting of the Unemployment Board last November. In addition to the chairman the members who will assemble for the first meeting of the board will be Sir James Gunson, Messrs E. Newman, D. Reese, and D. W. Reid. Formal questions will occupy the board for the first few meetings as a great deal of preliminary attention will naturally have to be given to the scope of the board’s authority and administrative aspect of railways control before definite steps in the direction of framing a policy can be taken. It, has been arranged that Hhe board will hold an informal conference with the Prime Minister (Mr G. W. Forbes) some time to-morrow, when the change over in control will be discussed and attention given to the power reserved to the Minister of Finance. Under the Government Railways Amendment Act it is laid down that the board shall confer with the Minister of Finance from time to time concerning its financial policy, and in this policy the board is to be guided by the Minister, It is understood that one of the first questions to be considered by the board will be that of the lines under construction. Under the Act the board is empowered to make recommendations to Parliament concerning these lines. During the last session the Prime Minister expressed the opinion that there was no reason why the board should not report on these works during the coming session in view of the fact that all particulars concerning them were already in the possession of the department, and that there would be no need to carry out a further special examination into the finances connected with them.